BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Hand held tools are used in a vast array of professional and hobby activities including auto repair, electronics, and woodworking. While engaged in these activities, it is not unusual for a worker to desire to hold a fastener with one hand while the other hand drives, rotates, or otherwise works the fastener into a final position. A typical example of this activity is the need to hold a nail with one hand while manipulating a hammer with the other hand to drive the nail into a piece of wood or the like. In many applications, the shaft of the fastener is sufficiently long such that holding the fastener directly with the fingers does not pose any significant risk of injury; however, in some applications (where the fastener is extremely tiny or cumbersome), it can be dangerous for the operator to manipulate the fastener directly with his fingers while working the fastener with the remaining free hand with a screwdriver, hammer, or the like.

The present invention removes the operator's fingers from a zone of danger around the fastener such that when the fastener is struck or otherwise operated on, there is no risk to the operator that his fingers will be struck or injured during the fastening process.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a front elevational view of the fastener manipulating device of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a rear view of the fastener manipulating device of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a bottom view taken substantially along lines 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a top view taken substantially along lines 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a right side elevational view taken substantially along lines 5-5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a left side elevational view taken substantially along lines 6-6 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a top view showing the fastener manipulating device engaging a fastener.

Figure 8 is an environmental view showing the fastener manipulating device being used by an operator to drive a nail into a workpiece Figure 9 is a bottom view of a second embodiment of the fastener manipulating device of the present invention.

Figure 10 is a top view of the second embodiment of Figure 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Now referring to Figure 1, fastener manipulating device 10 is comprised of two main portions--hand held portion 12 and gripping arms 14. O-ring 16 encircles gripping arms 14 and is used to urge them against one another. O-ring 16 is slidable along gripping arms 14 in both a forward direction 18 and in a rear-ward direction 20.

Now referring to Figure 2, gripping arms 14 preferably include a first straight segment 22 and an angular segment 24. The double segment 22,24 design makes the fastener manipulating device 10 more ergonomic thus minimizing wrist and hand fatigue of the user. Angular segment 24 is preferably angled 25 from straight segment 22 at 15 or more degrees but less than or equal to 30 degrees.

Now referring to Figures 3 and 4, gripping arms 14 are comprised of first arm 14'and 14".

Gripping arms 14', 14"are two separate arms which are separable along center line 26.

Gripping arms 14', 14"are urged against one another by O-ring 16.

Now referring to Figure 7, the separation between gripping arm 14'and 14"can be easily seen in Figure 7. This separation between arm 14'and 14"is made more evident by virtue of the placement of fastener 28 in one of the three fastener accommodating holes 30,32, and 34. Fastener accommodating holes (or accommodating surfaces) 30,32, and 34 each possess a different diameter, thus, at least one of the three holes is likely to be suited to accommodate any type of fastener irrespective of fastener shank diameter.

Preferred Method of Use Now referring to Figures 4 and 8, the fastener manipulating device of the present invention is easy and safe to use. When an operator desires to place a fastener into one or more worlcpieces 36,38, first, the fastener 28 is placed in one of the three fastener accommodating holes 30,32,34 of fastener manipulating device 10. The choice of which accommodating hole 30,32,34 to use is dependant on the shank size of the fastener 28.

Fasteners of larger shank diameters should be placed in-accommodating hole 30 while fasteners having a small diameter should be placed in accommodating hole 32. Fasteners of intermediate shank diameter should be placed in accommodating hole 34. In many cases, O-ring 16 can be left in an intermediate position (as shown in Figure 8), and will not need to be manipulated forwardly 18 or rearwardly 20. In some situations, gripping arms 14 will not place sufficient gripping force on fastener 28 to keep it properly positioned within fastener accommodating holes 30,32, and 34. In these situations, O-ring 16 can be slid forwardly 18 thereby causing arms 14', and 14"to grip fastener 28 with increased gripping force. Although O-ring 16 is contemplated as being a useful aspect of the present invention, depending on the resiliency of the material used to fabricate arms 14', 14" gripping arms 14', and 14"may possess sufficient resilient properties such that no O-ring is necessary.

Over time, O-ring 16 will deteriorate. When this happens, it can easily be slid off from gripping arms 14', and 14"and a new O-ring 16 can be slid over gripping arms 14', and 14"and manipulated into place. Once fastener 28 has been properly located within one of the fastener accommodating holes 30,32 or 34, the fastener manipulating device 10 is held adjacent to the workpiece 36 and fastener 28 is manipulated by a hammer, screwdriver, or the like. Once the fastener 28 has penetrated workpiece 36 to a sufficient degree such that it is retained therein without falling out, manipulating device 10 is pulled away 40 from fastener 28. This pulling action will cause gripping arms 14', 14"to open along center line 26 thereby releasing the fastener from the fastener manipulating device and allowing the operator to finish driving the fastener into workpiece 36.

Preferred Materials and Methods of Manufacture Although almost any material is suited for fabricating the fastener manipulating device (steel, wood, fiberglass, or the like), prototypes yielding excellent results have been fabricated using the following materials and techniques. Handle portion 12 has been successfully manufactured in both polypropylene (in a hard version) and thermoplastic rubber (in a soft version). Gripping arms 14', and 14"are preferably fabricated from nylon (PA6). An important property of gripping arms 14', and 14"is that they should not shatter when struck. Thus if an operator accidentally strikes the arms, they should be made from a material which resists chipping or fragmenting. Nylon offers excellent properties in this regard; however, many soft steels, plastics, rubber based materials, resins and the like offer excellent anti-fragmenting properties.

Gripping arms 14', 14" can be fastened to handle portion 12 using any number of techniques (such as gluing). In the prototype of the present invention, gripping arms 14', 14" were placed within a mold wherein handle portion 12 was molded around gripping arms 14', 14". In an alternative embodiment, handle 12 can be formed such that there is an opening therein which allows gripping arm 14', 14"to be frictionally inserted within the opening of handle portion 12. This frictional engagement should be sufficiently strong such that gripping arms 14', 14"do not loosen during use but in the event that one of the gripping arms 14', 14" is damaged during use, it can be easily manipulated from the mounting hole within handle portion 12 and replaced with a new gripping arm.

Figure 9 shows a second embodiment of the fastener manipulating device 10. The second embodiment of the fastener manipulating device is identical to the first embodiment described herein, with the exception that the second embodiment includes metal inserts 15' 15"disposed in the end portion of their respectively associated gripping arms 14', 14".

Metal inserts 15', 15"are retained to their respective gripping arms 14', 14"preferably by way of gluing; however, it is contemplated that metal inserts 15', 15"can be joined gripping arms 14', 14"by way of molding. Specifically, metal inserts 15', 15"can be inserted in a mold prior to injecting the material from which gripping arms 14', 14"are formed. The primary advantage to using a metal insert 15', 15"is that it greatly enhances the wearability of gripping arms 14', 14".

While the present invention has been described herein in connection with various preferred embodiments, it is recognized that those skilled in the art may make various modifications or additions to the preferred embodiments chosen here to illustrate the present invention, without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the subject matter sought to be afforded protection hereby should be deemed to extend to the subject matter defined in the appended claims, including all fair equivalents thereof.

Reference Numbers 10 fastener manipulating device 12 handle portion 14 gripping arms 14'gripping arm 14"gripping arm 16 O-ring 18 forward direction 20 rearward direction 22 straight segment of 14 24 angular segment of 14 25 angle 26 center line 16 28 fastener 30 fastener accommodating hole 32 fastener accommodating hole 34 fastener accommodating hole 36 workpiece 38 workpiece 40 pulled away from fastener 28